Polymonoaryl carbonates of polyhydric alcohols have been prepared by reacting.
1. the corresponding polychlorocarbonic acid esters of polyhydric alcohols with the corresponding phenols in the presence of hydrogen chloride-binding agents,
2. by reacting the corresponding polyalcohols with the corresponding chlorocarbonic acid esters of the phenols in the presence of hydrogen chloride binding agents or
3. by transesterifying the corresponding diaryl carbonates with the polyalcohols, splitting off, in each case, one mol of phenol per mol of diaryl carbonate. (Compare DT-OS (German Published Specification) 1,593,864, page 3, last paragraph to page 4,first paragraph).
While methods (1) and (2) have the disadvantage that hydrogen chloride binding agents must also be used, in stoichiometric amounts, method (3) has hitherto had the disadvantage that a mixture of high-molecular compounds is formed, since, for example, the formation of polycarbonates (compare Dt-AS (German Published Specification) 1,694,080, column 4) or the etherification of terminal OH groups (compare Japanese Auslegeschrift (Japanese Published Specification) 6,911,377 in Chemical Abstracts, Volume 71, 1969, page 34, abstract 922 48d) occur as competing reactions.